Calgary & Southern Alberta

The geographical parameters of what North Americans have called "the West" and "the North West" shifted frequently as the frontiers of the European fur trade and settlement advanced across the continent. The imposition of changing political boundaries on these fluid geographical references generated what is now a confusing maze of definitions. In the eighteenth century, for example, the "North West" comprised an ill-defined territory that included present-day Michigan and Illinois. Today, Americans generally use the term to describe Washington State, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. These states occupy the north-west portion of the American "West". The latter term, though itself ambiguous, most often refers today to the portion of the United States that lies west of St. Louis, Missouri.

Canadian usage has also changed through time. Upper Canada, which became the province of Ontario at Confederation, was known as "Canada West" from 1840 to 1867. Beyond the frontiers of Euro-Canadian settlement was the Hudson's Bay Company's (HBC) Rupert's Land, portions of which became the "North West Territories" after federal purchase in 1869. The political boundaries of the North West Territories contracted as politicians created new provinces and extended their borders. During the late 19th century, however, the Territories included present-day Alberta, Saskatchewan, and most of what is now Manitoba - an area that for most Canadians in the 1990s is synonymous with the Canadian "West".

This tutorial uses the label "the West" in its modern Canadian context, except where otherwise stated. However, viewers should note that prior to the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) most Canadians thought of this geographical area as the "North West". The label reflected public interest in areas near the planned CPR route. Originally, the CPR was to follow the North Saskatchewan River Valley north-west from Manitoba to Edmonton. The decision to follow a southern route through Fort Calgary diverted attention away from the northward-facing settlements of Prince Albert, Battleford and Edmonton, towards the south. After the change of plans, "the 'Northwest', for practical reasons, became replaced by the 'West'...." (Morris Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North 1870-1914. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971, p. 29.)